Invocation of Hearth | Jan 23

Calendar of the Moon
7 Luis/Gamelion

Hearth Blessing

Color: RedElement: FireAltar: On this day the altar is built in the kitchen, spread before the hearth with a red cloth and a single red candle on which is carved the Rune of Fire.Offerings: Ashes smeared on the forehead. Kitchen cleaning and duty.Daily Meal: Cooked all together as a group.

Invocation to the Hearth Goddess

Hertha of the warm hearthstone
Hestia of the naked flame
Vesta of the rising smoke
Lady who warms us
As you warmed our ancestors,
Lady whose touch cooks our food,
Lady around whom we gather
On the coldest nights,
Fire that draws us in,
Fire tamed, fire who is our friend,
Never let us forget your care
Lest you become wild and strike back.
Stay here in your hearth
And protect our home from your anger.
Speak truth to us
And let us bear your truth on our tongues.
Never leave us for long
Lest we forget to whom we owe
The next winter’s comfort
And salvation.

Chant: Ken Ken Ken

(As everyone chants, each steps forward and draws the rune of Fire, Ken, on the hearth with their finger. Then the hearth is ceremonially relit with the candle and dinner-making commences.)

Kenaz is the symbolizes the control and harnessing of fire for warmth and illumination. It represents our having harnessed forces and energies greater than ourselves. Where THURISAZ is the creation of tools, the rune meaning of Kenaz speaks to their skillful use. It signifies the mystery of transformation and our power to create as nature does.

Ancestrally, we each must carry our own torch, creating a path of light that flows through the darkness. These torches are never extinguished, and can be used as signposts in the navigation of the ancestral stream, and to acquire the knowledge and tools from our ancestry represented within ANSUZ that are rightfully ours to use in the present lifetime.

The scientific method and art as an exploration of truth exemplifies Kenaz, as do all fearless forays into the darkness of the unknown (represented by PERTHRO) in search of illumination. Also consider that there is inborn and hereditary knowledge, and that one of the cognitive faculties governed by Kenaz is intuition.

Kenaz is like a torchlit library, and the energy is clearly filled with unlimited potential to learn and to map. Sometimes a good deal of digging around is necessary to uncover the knowledge that will help. Do not forget that the map is not the territory, as Kenaz represents the acquisition of knowledge, not the knowledge itself. Not truth, but the search for truth.

In matters of learning, which can be complemented by the protective teaching force of ALGIZ, it is wise to remember that humility is the prime requirement of a good student, and that no one learns more than the teacher. Therefore arrogance, elitism and authoritarianism signify a disconnect with the principles of Kenaz. Information wants to be free!